1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the invention relate generally to methods and apparatuses for cooling devices in a server structure. More specifically, aspects of the invention involve a cooling device with a similar form factor as a heat producing device, for example a hard drive in a server array.
2. Description of Related Art
Large-scale computing systems, such as server farms, may have one or more servers, each of which may include multiple hard drives. When operating a large number of hard drives in a server, a primary goal is to draw as much heat as possible away from the hard drives and out of the server chassis. The resultant hot exhaust air may be run though a heat exchanger within a cooling system to continuously cool the server and its environment. For example, the server may be operating in a datacenter where the exhaust air from the server is used in the cooling system for the entire data center. The higher the exhaust temperature leaving the server, the more efficiently the datacenter cooling system may operate.
Hard drives generate heat during operation. If the temperature of a given hard drive becomes too hot, that hard drive may fail or its efficiency may degrade. Therefore, without proper cooling, some or all of the drives may become too hot to operate before the exhaust reaches a desired temperature.
To maintain optimal exhaust and operational temperatures, continuous airflow through the server structure may be provided. Traditionally, operators have addressed this problem by reducing the density of the hard drives on the server. As a result, the server structure may require a greater amount of physical space as opposed to a more compact arrangement. If a hard drive begins to overheat or fails, it is typically removed for maintenance.
Known cooling products include fans positioned near the heat producing device. For example, some products require that the fan be mounted directly to a hard drive. Certain cooling products require separate power connections within the computer. Furthermore, fans used to cool the drives may cause vibrations which can degrade the performance of the drives.